Loggerhead (album)

Loggerhead is the second album by South London musician Wu-Lu. It was released 8 July 2022 by Warp Records, and was his first with the label after releasing his debut album, Ginga, independently in 2015. Writing and recording for the album began in London, though mainly took place in Norway. Musical collaborators include featured vocalists Asha Lorenz, Amon, Lex Amor, and Léa Sen, as well as Mica Levi, two members of the band Black Midi, and Wu-Lu's brother Benjamin Romans-Hopcraft.

Loggerhead
A photo of three men in a room, with one pointing accusatorily at the other two. The photo is framed in black with the artist's name in large letters at the top and the album's name handwritten at the bottom.
Studio album by
Wu-Lu
Released8 July 2022
Length41:26
LabelWarp
ProducerWu-Lu, Amon
Wu-Lu chronology
S.U.F.O.S.
(2019)		 Loggerhead
(2022)
Singles from Loggerhead
  1. "South"
    Released: 7 February 2021
  2. "Times"
    Released: 14 April 2021
  3. "Broken Homes"
    Released: 21 November 2021
  4. "Blame"
    Released: 4 May 2022
  5. "Scrambled Tricks"
    Released: 21 June 2022

Five singles were released prior to the album, each with a music video directed by either Denisha Anderson or Ethan + Tom. The album was received positively by critics and was nominated for multiple awards by the American Association of Independent Music and the UK's Association of Independent Music.

Background

Loggerhead is Wu-Lu's first album released with Warp Records, who he signed with in 2021,[1] having previously released the album Ginga and the EPs N.A.I.S. and S.U.F.O.S. independently in the 2010s.[2]

Recording

While hanging out in an empty pub in 2020, Wu-Lu determined the space would be good for recording in. He hired a mixing desk and invited his band to jam. In a session running through the night until 7 a.m. the next day, the band had written the riff for "Broken Homes". Continuing sessions led to noise complaints, so the band left London for a new space in Norway where they recorded 40 demos over a month. Twelve songs were selected from those demos, solidifying the track list for Loggerhead.[3]

Release

Three songs from the album were released as singles prior to the album's announcement. The first, "South", features Lex Amor and was released 7 February 2021. "South" came with a music video directed by Denisha Anderson, and was described as having a "trip hop post-punk mix, with shades of Tricky and Martina Topley-Bird."[4] "Times", featuring drums by Black Midi's Morgan Simpson and a music video directed by Ethan + Tom, came out on 14 April.[5] "Broken Homes" was released on 21 November alongside the announcement of Wu-Lu's signing to Warp Records and came with another music video directed by Anderson.[1]

The album was announced on 4 May 2022 for an 8 July release by Warp Records. The album's fourth single, "Blame", was released the same day with another Anderson-directed video. The music video also featured the album cut "Ten".[2] The fifth single, "Scrambled Tricks", was released 21 June with a second music video by Ethan + Tom featuring Wu-Lu being attacked by a gang of clowns, with visuals reminiscent of A Clockwork Orange and The Texas Chain Saw Massacre.[6][7]

Reception
Loggerhead ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.8/10[8]
Metacritic83/100[9]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[10]
Clash8/10[11]
Crack8/10[12]
DIY[13]
The Line of Best Fit9/10[14]
Loud and Quiet9/10[15]
Pitchfork7.3/10[16]
The Skinny[17]

According to the review aggregator Metacritic, Loggerhead received "universal acclaim" based on a weighted average score of 83 out of 100 from 6 critic scores.[9]

Awards
Loggerhead awards
Year Organization Award Work Status Ref.
2022 AIM Independent Music Awards Best Independent Track "Broken Homes" Nominated [18]
UK Music Video Awards Best Rock Video - Newcomer "Blame" Nominated [19]
2023 Libera Awards Best Punk Record Loggerhead Nominated [20]
AIM Independent Music Awards Best Independent Album Loggerhead Nominated [21]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Wu-Lu with additional writers noted. All tracks produced by Wu-Lu, with track 3 also produced by Amon

Loggerhead track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Take Stage" 3:00
2."Night Pill" (featuring Asha Lorenz)Lorenz3:40
3."Facts" (featuring Amon)Amon3:26
4."Scrambled Tricks" 2:22
5."South" (featuring Lex Amor)Lex Amor3:54
6."Calo Paste" (featuring Léa Sen) 3:27
7."Slightly" 3:01
8."Blame" 3:03
9."Ten" 1:55
10."Road Trip" 4:00
11."Times" 5:19
12."Broken Homes" 4:19
Total length:41:26

Personnel

Musicians
  • Wu-Lu – vocals, bass, producer, audio engineer
  • Demae Chioma Wodu – vocals (1)
  • Asha Lorenz – vocals (2)
  • Amon – vocals (3)
  • Lex Amor – vocals (5)
  • Léa Sen – vocals (6)
  • Ego Ella Uche – vocals (1, 7)
  • Dr Unkle – vocals (4)
  • Jordan Thompson Hadfield – guitar (2, 3, 10), synthesiser (12)
  • Matthew Antony Kwasniewski-Kelvin – guitar (3, 4, 8, 9)
  • Tagara Mhiza – bass (2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 12), vocals (4, 9)
  • Jaega Francis McKenna-Gordon – drums (2–4, 7–9, 12)
  • Blake Joshua Cameron Cascoe – drums (5, 8–10), vocals (9)
  • Giles King-Ashong – drums (5)
  • Morgan Simpson – drums (11)
  • Jason – percussion (2, 12)
  • Raven Bush – strings (1, 6)
  • Mica Levi – strings (6)

Technical
  • Wu-Lu – producer, audio engineer (1–8, 10–12)
  • Dilip Harris – mixing
  • Heba Kadry – mastering
  • Max Lyons–Depont – audio engineer (1–8, 10–12)
  • Andy Ramsay – audio engineer (9)
  • Benjamin Romans-Hopcraft – arranger (12)

References
  1. Urban, Mike (21 November 2021). "South London artist Wu-Lu releases "Broken Homes" and signs to Warp Records". Brixton Buzz. Retrieved 11 April 2023.
  2. Helfand, Raphael (4 May 2022). "Song You Need: Wu-Lu takes out his miscommunication anxiety on the track". The Fader. Retrieved 11 April 2023.
  3. Kalia, Ammar (16 August 2022). ""Maybe we'll become a genre": Wu-Lu, the punky lo-fi hip-hop star moving fast to transcend labels". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 April 2023.
  4. "Song of the Day: Wu-Lu: "South" (featuring Lex Amor)". Song Bar. 7 February 2021. Retrieved 11 April 2023.
  5. Fu, Eddie (14 April 2021). "Wu-Lu Quietly Rages on Simmering New Song "Times"". Consequence. Retrieved 11 April 2023.
  6. "Wu-Lu Returns With "Scrambled Tricks"". Clash. 21 June 2022. Retrieved 11 April 2023.
  7. Helfand, Raphael (21 June 2022). "Wu-Lu gets jumped into a clown gang in "Scrambled Tricks" video". The Fader. Retrieved 11 April 2023.
  8. "Loggerhead by Wu-Lu reviews". AnyDecentMusic. Retrieved 11 April 2023.
  9. "Loggerhead by Wu-Lu Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved 11 April 2023.
  10. Kellman, Andy. "Wu-Lu - Loggerhead". AllMusic. Retrieved 11 April 2023.
  11. Sutton, Naima (7 July 2022). "Wu-Lu - Loggerhead". Clash. Retrieved 11 April 2023.
  12. Balram, Dhruva (11 July 2022). "Wu-Lu's Loggerhead: A blistering takedown of austerity in London". Crack. Retrieved 11 April 2023.
  13. Grice, Alisdair. "Wu-Lu Loggerhead review". DIY. Retrieved 11 April 2023.
  14. Kuscher, Oliver (4 July 2022). "Loggerhead confirms Wu-Lu's brilliantly fierce individuality". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 11 April 2023.
  15. Cashin, Cal (4 July 2022). "Wu-Lu - Loggerhead". Loud and Quiet. Retrieved 11 April 2023.
  16. Roberts, Phillipe (11 July 2022). "Wu-Lu: Loggerhead Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved 11 April 2023.
  17. Pearson, Tommy (5 July 2022). "Wu-Lu album review: Loggerhead". The Skinny. Retrieved 11 April 2023.
  18. Grein, Paul (28 September 2022). "Wet Leg, Stormzy & Rina Sawayama Win at 2022 AIM Independent Music Awards". Billboard. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
  19. "UK Music Video Awards 2022 winners announced". Shots. 27 October 2022. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
  20. Simon, Perry Michael (16 June 2023). "A2IM Announces 2023 Libera Awards Winners". AllAccess. Retrieved 16 June 2023.
  21. Parkel, Inga (26 September 2023). "AIM Awards 2023 winners in full, from Björk to Wet Leg". The Independent. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
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